“Compete” – Should and Can We Teach it

Peter Haberl, Ed. D. United States Olympic Committee

In the first game, the energy and the fight was low, and instead of responding to being down by fighting back, we kept the same low intensity.

I think we came out pissed after our prior games performance. We wanted to show that we could compete.

Competition vs De-competition

To Strive With• Basic Metaphor

• Partnership

• Motivation• Love of the Game• Shared Enjoyment

• Goals• Learning and Mastery• Pursuit of excellence

• View of Opponent• Partner

• Playing and winning• Focus on process

To Strive Against

• Basic Metaphor• Battle or war

• Motivation• Use of the game• Thrill (at the expense of opponent)

• Goals• Domination, conquest, superiority

• View of Opponent• Obstacle, enemy

• Playing and Winning• Focus on outcome

Light Shields & Light Bredemeier 2009

5:531:45 amWe made history tonight and unfortunately there couldn’t be two winners.

We live for these matches

I enjoyed being part of this event and this match

So very happy for everything

"It's a pretty simple league -- the team that works the hardest wins," Todd McLellan, February 12, 2013

"After 1-0, we stopped competing. Up until that point, 10 minutes into the game, guys were playing hard.“ Peter Laviolette, 03.09.2013, after losing to the Boston Bruins

”Right now, we don't play hard enough to win.“ Paul MacLean, Ottawa Senators, 11.24.2013

2013-14 Season

"We just didn't see the competiveness and the team-oriented play that's needed on a nightly basis to win hockey games.“ New Coach Craig Berube, October 7, 2013

"I just think our team doesn't competehard enough right now. We don't play hard enough in areas that you have to play hard in.“ Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks, 12.21.2013

"Shock might be the words to describe it. Extremely disappointed. Shallow, embarrassed, all those things. . . . We didn't find a way to compete and execute to a level that was necessary.“ Randy Carlyle after the Leafs were eliminated by the Lightening in the 2014 play-off race

“We want an easy game and until we are going to compete at the level we were last year then we are going to struggle. Patrick Roy after losing to the Florida Panthers 4:3 October 14, 2014

"I think that's what makes Toews and [Pavel] Datsyuk and Zetterberg different from other guys in the League is that's what they do -- they compete and when it doesn't go their way they dig down and find a way to go harder. That's why you want them around. They are a great example for the rest of the group.” Mike Babcock 05.18.2013

“It’s mostly the captain here. You watch and learn the way he plays and competes. His passion out there is bar none.” Brandon Saad, June 11, 2015

"He's got so much talent, but other than that he competes so hard. In practice, it doesn't matter when, he wants to compete, he wants to win no matter what he does. There's no one else I wanted to score that goal. He deserves it.” FransNielson on John Tavares 2016 Stanley Cup Play-Offs.

"I think everybody that played against him or watched him knew how competitive he was. He wanted to win. He wanted to play and play well all the time.”Joe Sakic on Peter Forsberg

“He had so much skill, but what I liked about Peter so much was his will. . . . He was special.”Patrick Roy on Peter Forsberg

"In practice, I tell people my job was more to find ways to get him off the ice, he wanted to work so long . . . Goalie Coach Jim Bedard on Dominic Hasek

2011 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

"We lost the game because their team outplayed our team," Paul Holmgren 2011

"I really think they outworked us and they won more battles. Their team was better than our team.“ Claude Giroux, 2011

"I think the whole game; they worked harder, they won battles, It looks like they want it more than us. It's frustrating. Our whole season, we've been outworking every team, and now it's the other way around. I don't know what to tell you.“ Claude Giroux 05.06.2012 after falling behind 3:1 to New Jersey

2012 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

"We've got some looking in the mirror to do, some regrouping and we need to make some changes. We're better. X's and O's or film, we've done that to death. It's about intestinal fortitude and coming together as a group and going to the hard areas and showing some (guts). They showed it for the first two games for the full 60 minutes and we didn't, and that's why we have an 0-2 hole to dig ourselves out.“ David Backes, St. Louis Blues, May 1, 2012

2012 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

"[The Islanders] were a team that wanted it more than us. That was the story of the game."Pascal Dupuis Pittsburgh Penguins, May 3, 2013 Stanley Cup Play-offs

2013 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

"They played very good, very hard, very desperate. I don't think, quite frankly, we had 20 players playing. We had some passengers.” Anaheim Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau 05.07.2013 after Detroit evened the series with a 3:2 overtime win

2013 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

"We weren't working hard and they were outworking us. For the most part, it was just that. It was our battle level. Overall, I think some of the mistakes were pretty minor, but in the grand scheme of things we just got outplayed.” Kyle Palmieri, Anaheim Ducks, Western Conference Final, May 28, 2015, game 6

2015 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

"They'll hurt tonight [after losing the series] but it was a great learning experience for all the young kids. I'm proud of the fact we never quit. Nobody picked us to finish first in the Atlantic and we had 103 points and came a long way.” Florida Coach Gerard Gallant after being eliminated by the Islanders in the 2016 Stanley Cup Play-Offs

2016 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

They came out harder and outworked us tonight. We

were lazy. They were beating us inside, at their net,

along the walls. It seemed like we got outbattled early,

and we could never really recover from it. Sharks

Forward Chris Tierney after losing game 4 to the St. Louis

Blues in the 2016 Stanley Cup Play-offs

If you take a night off, you're one game from

elimination. We're going to bring it next game.” Chris

Tierney, San Jose Sharks

2016 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

”. . . they seemed to outwork us at times in that first 40 [minutes], which we can't have that happen.” Ryan Callahan

"We had a great chance tonight and kind of tiptoed around it a little bit. We were tentative and weren’t aggressive. We weren’t on top. We weren’t skating" Brian Boyle, Tampa Bay Lightening, failing to close out the Penguins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals

2016 – Stanley Cup Play-Offs

We have to be willing to outcompete them.

"Coming out and hoping for something or waiting for

something to happen; you lose. I think a lot of guys have

understood that over the last couple of years.” A. Cogliano,

Anaheim Ducks before Game 7 vs. Nashville

"They've outcompeted us in the last couple games.

We won one of them, but I mean we've got to get back

to where we can outcompete the other team.” Bruce

Boudreau, Anaheim Ducks, before game 7 of the 2016

Stanley Cup Play-offs

"The message that I tried to bring to the whole group

was that the foundation of our team identity has to be

our competitive spirit. It has to come from our

passion to play, . . . the message resonated and we

have a team right now that plays with competitive

fire.” Mike Sullivan, Stanley Cup Play-offs 2016

Hockey is also a lot like life, every time we step on the ice, you got a totally new experience, you never have the same shift, you never have the same game, and just the players you are around are always different, and the same thing in life, you never know what trials and tests you are going to face and it pushes you to not only become a better player, a better person and a better teammate. Brian Rafalski

"I always dreamed about one day being a starting goalie in the NHL and it took me a few years. I was sent down to the minors and I played behind Eddie Belfour, who was the VezinaTrophy winner in Chicago. Honestly at the time I never dreamed of being a Vezina Trophy winner or being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It is like a dream, seriously.” Dominic Hasek

"I hadn't played in the playoffs the past few years and even at my age, you're still learning. If I come back, I know I'll be ready. I have to practice differently. I want to play, that's for sure. But I have to be more ready, I know that.” Jaromir Jagrafter losing to the New York Islanders in the 2016 Play-offs

"He's a horse, man. The guy is a horse. Might as well just give him the Conn Smythe right now.“ Roberto Luongo on Ryan Kesler, 2011 Stanley Cup Play-Offs

"I was trying to work extremely hard and put my best game on the ice every night.” Ryan Kesler

"I had a real short-term focus. When I took this job

over, my sole focus was to try to get better every day.

Where that was going to take us, we really didn't

concern ourselves with that. I think it's been that

short-term focus that has allowed our team to

continue to grow and develop as a group.” Mike

Sullivan

“To me it seems pretty simple, raised intensity = raised overall play.”

I do believe that the intensity of our practices are very high, but if the intensity of practice was raised, I also believe that we can reach another level as a team.

If everyday had more of a raised intensity, we would and will be much more prepared for big games, big moments, and big plays.

I believe if a few people show up to practice always training hard with this mindset than it will rub off on the other players just like Stevens did with his teammates.

Similar to Stevens, I think this energy can stem from ourselves. We need to be able to hold each other accountable and create an environment where game speed is the only speed acceptable.

Thank you for your attention!